Conrad's Courage to Persevere

Summary: This essay is about the novel "Ordinary People" by Judith Guest. It deals with Conrad Jarrett's ability to persevere through times of death and despair in his life.

We all deal with death in a different way. Conrad Jarrett, a suicidal teenager who is still recovering from the guilt of his brother's death, finds out that his good friend Karen Aldrich has committed suicide. Karen met Conrad in the hospital he spent eight months in, recovering from his own suicide attempt and there they became close to one another. The thought of Karen committing suicide was unconceivable to Conrad, because when they had last seen one another it was her telling him to be less intense about their problems. Her father had decided for her that she did not need a psychiatrist; instead she could solve her own problems. With the help of Dr. Berger Conrad is able to persevere through the pain and death of Karen.

Conrad first finds out about Karen's death while he is reading the newspaper.